Archive for June, 2007

This past weekend we went to a Mexican restaurant and had lots of great food! Mexican food is very colorful; the combination of red tomatoes, green avocados, cilantro and other colorful food is wonderful. As we had lots of avocados at the restaurant, the talk went naturally to Avocado Consulting.

Over the years many people have asked me why I named my company Avocado Consulting. Well, there is a story behind the name. Back when I was launching my company, I needed a name for it. I have found a few names, but none of them “clicked” for me. I had a huge notepad with many names written down on it, except I didn’t want to use any one of them.

Then one day I was sitting at my dining table, trying to come up with more business names. And a few days before than I had bought avocados to make guacamole. They were sitting in a bowl on the dining table. As I was thinking of names, I kept looking at the avocados. And at some point I just paired “avocado” with “consulting” and the rest, as they say, was history.

I continued the food theme with my online business community web site, MarketingSalad.com.

Do you need more coaching clients? How about getting clients by referrals?

To get clients through referrals you should create reciprocal referral relationships with other non-competing professionals who work with your target market. This way, you can send referrals to each other, and get more business. Having a strong referral network is one of the best ways to get clients for a service business.

For example, let’s say you are a business coach and your target market are business owners who run small and medium size businesses. You should connect with other business professionals that small and medium size businesses employ, such as web designers, accountants, virtual assistants and others. As you build relationships with them, you will be able to refer business to each other.

The best way to find professionals to build referral relationships with is through networking. This can be local networking – through your Chamber of Commerce and other organization. Or it can be something I have used with a lot of success, online networking. You can network online with professionals, get to know them and build relationships with
them.

Today and tomorrow I am hosting an online networking event, during which I do “business matchmaking” – I help participants find referral partners.

A part of my business plan for this year includes attending local business networking events to meet more local solopreneurs and promote my business. To follow through with my plan, I decided to network in person last week. I found a few events I was interested in attending and put them on my schedule.
Of course, even the most detailed plans go awry. In my case a broken air conditioner prevented me from attending networking events. Instead of going to the events, I was stuck making sure that the air conditioning gets fixed. Having to work when it is hot is really no fun.

Eventually the air conditioning got fixed, but getting that done prevented me from attending local networking events. But even though I could not participate in local events in the last few days, I was still able to participate in online networking events, connect with my potential clients and get new clients and newsletter subscribers.

Online networking is a great way to network. What I love about online networking is that you can do it anytime – between client appointments, early in the morning and even when you are trying to get your air conditioning fixed.

Join me for some online networking! I am hosting an online networking event next week and you can join even if you only have 10 minutes to spare. During the event you will be able to connect with your potential customers, learn how to network online and create valuable connections.

Networking is great, as long as you have very clear goals for it and you network in groups
that are right for your business.

Here is what I recommend:

– If your goal is to get new business, you should network in groups that are frequented by your target market. Make sure you have defined your target market well, then look for groups where your target market networks and network there.

– Have a good answer (or a few good answers) to the question about what you do. Make sure you answer outlines the benefits your target market will receive when working with you.

– Make referrals when you can. Send referrals to others in the group and they will be more likely to send referrals your way.

I also recommend that you participate in online networking. I am the online business coach and about 98% of my clients come to me through my online marketing efforts. Many of them come to me after they meet through online networking groups.

If you have never participate in online networking, it is just like offline networking, except that it is done online. I am holding an online networking event next week, so come on over and join us for the event!

What are your favorite things to do in the summer? I just love walking around the city in sunny weather, when the temperature is in low 70s Fahrenheit (low 20s Celsius). The weather is just warm enough, and there is a light breeze coming from the lake – those are perfect Chicago days!

This past weekend I was in luck – it was nice and sunny, with the temperatures hovering around 72F. We spent almost the whole day outside! We walked around the city, went to my favorite sushi spot and went to the lake.

We also dropped by a Book Fair. I really enjoyed browsing books, and there were lots of cookbooks to see. I networked and made contacts at a local writing organization. I also watched a few authors speak about their books and signing autographs. Seeing them made my goal for writing a book firmer – I can’t wait to finish it!

Have you heard the phrase, “Timing Is Everything”? I was reminded of it this weekend. We were about to leave the house to go run a few errands, but got delayed by 10 minutes. As we started putting on shoes to leave the house, we heard the rain starting outside. In a matter of two minutes the rain turned into a downpour and then 1/4 inch hail. It was hailing in June!

We ended up staying inside for the next 30 minutes, just watching the rain and hail through the windows. The rain just kept coming down, and it looked as if a wall of water was coming down from the sky. The hail was very loud; you could hear it hitting the trees and the roofs.

After 30 minutes it stopped almost at once, just as fast as it started. The sun came out and the hail melted almost immediately.

I was glad that we got delayed by 10 minutes and avoided being outside in that rain and hail. Timing, indeed, is everything.

Timing is everything for you too! If you want to create an e-book that you can start selling in September, you have to start writing it now! Learn the step-by-step process of writing your e-book by getting the audio recordings (and other materials) from my Make Thousands Of Dollars With E-books Teleseminar Series.

The Teleseminar Series sold out, but you can purchase the audio recordings at

People come back to work and life in September, ready to take charge and ready to do things! So it is the best time to launch an e-book on a coaching topic, and that means YOU and YOUR e-book!

If you have been thinking about writing an e-book to create a passive income stream, start now! That way the e-book will be ready to be launched in September and that will help you make a lot of money.

This level is all about getting your target customers to enter your marketing funnel. You want them to subscribe to your newsletter in order for you to be able to send them regular information, build a relationship, and keep them informed about your new products and services.

Level 2: Products In The $10-$20 Range.

These are usually shorter reports.

Level 3: Products In The $20-$50 Range.

This level will include longer special reports, audio recordings and teleseminars.

Every once in a while someone asks me a HUGE marketing question. A HUGE question usually means that if I were to answer in detail, my answer could be made into a book. In fact, I have written a book on this exact subject.

The question this time is What Works In Marketing?

Here is my VERY short answer:

As I promote my business almost completely online, almost all of my clients come to me through my online marking efforts.

I have been marketing online for over 10 years, and the steps to creating a successful online business are:

– Defining your target audience

– Creating an effective message that resonates with your audience

– Taking this message far and wide to your target audience online

The techniques that have been most successful for me are:

– Newsletter publishing – keeping in touch with my current and potential customers is a big portion of my marketing plan.